The fund, which will come under the umbrella of Ghandour’s existing company Wamda Capital, will offer series A funding of between $1 million and $3 million, a largely non-existent funding space in the region, according to Ghandour.

“There’s plenty of talent in the tech space,” he said on the sidelines of a media briefing organised by the IFC, which is part of the World Bank. “The education system in the Arab world is quite good, even though we complain about it.”

The fund will aim to close in April with $75 million to invest, Ghandour added, and had already received institutional investor interest from abroad.

The IFC will invest between $10 million and $15 million in the fund, according to Mouayed Makhlouf, regional director for the IFC. “Our main interest is to support Fadi in starting one of the first professionally run VC funds in the region, and hopefully kick start the sector in MENA,” Makhlouf said, adding the tie-up is a first for the IFC in the region.

Ghandour is one of the Middle East’s most well known angel investors and entrepreneurs. He was the founder of pan-Arab logistics company Aramex, which was once listed on the Nasdaq in New York, and since stepping down from every day operations, has been heavily involved in angel investing.